Friday, September 10, 2010

College athletics is a dirty business. This isn't new. It's something everyone has known for years. I only mention this because Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl got hammered. And this wasn't by the NCAA, at least not yet. Pearl admitted he covered his ass when the NCAA hounds came knocking in July. I give Pearl credit, he knew he was wrong and he came clean about it. Although this is kind of ironic that many moons ago Pearl turned in Illinois to the NCAA about the recruiting inducements given to Deon Thomas, when he was at Iowa. Pearl will lose $1.5 million in salary and will not be able to recruit on the road for a year. All this before the NCAA honks will come along and drop hammer on the Volunteers.

This is nothing new. No college program is pure and clean, no matter how some media figures will tell you they are. Even Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams are completely clean. That may ruffle some feathers but its damn true. I've heard stories about Dean Smith that may or may not be true. Like I said, no one is clean. It's just that some do it better than others. I'm sure Bob Knight may have pulled some of the same tricks Jerry Tarkanian used. It's just that Tark had always been in the crosshairs where Knight wasn't. I believe Billy Tubbs might've cheated at Oklahoma, but he probably was just trying to keep up with Norm Stewart and Larry Brown. And before anyone tells me how honorable LB was, remember he got out of town right before Kansas was put on probation. I hate to say it, but Jim Valvano was thought to be crooked until he started dying. Now he's looked at differently. And don't let me get started on the Universtiy of Minnesota. It seems like anytime they happen to be a player on the national scene, they get caught cheating. And being from Michigan, I'm all too familiar with the Ed Martin scandal. Thing is, Martin had been around the program since the early 80's. I can go on all night about this, because this is just basketball I'm talking. Just peep the recent events in college football regarding cheating. Better yet ask Lou Holtz.

Everyone does it. Everyone gets their hands dirty in some way, shape, or form. Its just that some are better at it than others.